colo. supreme court Workers can be fired for using pot off-duty

Associated Press

DENVER

Pot may be legal in Colorado, but you still can be fired for using it.

The state Supreme Court ruled 6-0 Monday that a medical-marijuana patient who was fired after failing a drug test cannot get his job back. The case was being watched closely by employers and pot smokers in states that have legalized medical or recreational marijuana.

Colorado became at least the fourth state in which courts have ruled against medical-marijuana patients fired for pot use. Supreme courts in California, Montana and Washington state have made similar rulings, and federal courts in Colorado and Michigan also have rejected such claims.

The Colorado worker, Brandon Coats, is a quadriplegic who was fired by Dish Network after failing a 2010 drug test. The company agreed that Coats wasn’t high on the job but said it has a zero-tolerance drug policy.

Coats argued that his pot smoking was allowed under a state law intended to protect employees from being fired for legal activities off the clock. Coats didn’t use marijuana at work, but pot’s intoxicating chemical, THC, can stay in the system for weeks.

The Colorado justices ruled that because marijuana is illegal under federal law, Coats’ use of the drug couldn’t be considered legal off-duty activity.

“There is no exception for marijuana use for medicinal purposes, or for marijuana use conducted in accordance with state law,” the court wrote.